"Get Up The Mountain"

Three months after the children of Israel were led out of Egypt, they found themselves camping at the foot of a mountain in the desert of Sinai. At that time their “fearless” leader Moses would go up the mountain, also named Sinai, and he would hear from and sometimes speak with God. While he made the strenuous hike up to the summit, It’s said that God descended to the top of the mountain, creating a meeting place between heaven and earth. They would converse, and Moses would take the words of God to the people of Israel. Moses was the conveyor of truth, the mediator between God’s chosen people and Himself. One of the things communicated was that the people were to set boundaries around the mountain that were not to be crossed, with the penalty of death if the boundaries were breached. Similarly in the temple later on, only the High Priest could enter the Most Holy Place within the temple, and that was only one time per year. The glory of God’s presence would not tolerate an unworthy approach from a sinful man. 

Too often we live with this approach. We look to our pastor or other wise people to feed us the word of truth that they have received from God. We consume content from commentaries or books or podcasts or whatever it may be. And while these are good things that we can and should freely partake in, Paul says to the Ephesians “for through him (Jesus) we both have access to the Father by one spirit.” There are no longer any boundaries that keep us from communicating directly with the Father God! Don’t just rely on others to give you truth! Hebrews 10 says that since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith. And how do we have that confidence? When Jesus died, the curtain of the temple, the one that was the physical boundary between God and man, was torn from top to bottom. The earth shook, and rocks were split in the violence. The barrier was no more. The life and death of Jesus allows us to enter into God’s presence in a worthy manner, because we take on the righteousness of Christ before God by His grace and mercy. 

So no more camping at the foot of the mountain, waiting on someone to bring you the words of God! Pack your bag and make the hike! God wants to speak with you directly, and you will hear him through His word in the Scriptures. Study the word! God wants to know you, do you want to know Him?

-Morgan Rohrer